Challah Bread

Traditional Jewish bread made on Jewish holidays.

It was amazing! For the recipe... click HERE

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Typically I just get those tubes of Toll House cookies and bake those, but one day I figured... what the heck... my daughter and I can make homemade cookies. I found this recipe for chocolate chip cookies from my Amish cookbook and they are AMAZING! So much better than those refrigerated tubes. Plus, I can add extra chocolate chips, peanut butter, whatever to them. They are wonderful!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (or 1 stick)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg. of chocolate chips (7 oz)
1 tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
vanilla

Directions:
1. Mix together butter and sugar in a large bowl

2. Add the egg, hot water, and some vanilla to taste (I usually put a cap full of vanilla in and I microwave the water in a cup so it's nice and hot when I add it) and mix with butter and sugar.

3. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to the mixture and beat until smooth

4. Add chocolate chips and blend into the mixture

5. Scoop out spoonfuls of cookie dough and put on cookie sheet

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until light brown

See how simple this is? And my daughter LOVED them. She kept begging for more! The store bought kind have her done when she is halfway through a cookie.

Triple Berry Jam

Ingredients:
3 cups of crushed blueberries
5 cups of crushed strawberries
3 cups of crushed blackberries
12 cups of sugar

Directions:

1. Heat up the canning jars and lids

2. Mix together all ingredients (this is a huge quantity of berries and sugar and it might need to be divided into 2 pots)

3. Turn up the heat and let sit stirring occasionally until it really starts to froth a lot on top.

4. Remove cans from hot water bath and pore in berries.

5. Remove lid from hot water bath and secure lid with rings.

6. Place back in hot water bath for 30 minutes then remove.

7. Repeat process until all the berries are gone. Should make about 10 pints.

Canning Blueberries

At Suzanne's Fruit Farm, Sophie and I picked TONS of blueberries. Since I don't have much freezer space it was important that I can them. But I didn't want them to be mushy and therefore limit my uses for them. So I decided to do a "raw pack"

Ingredients:
Canning jars, lids, and rings
Blueberries
Water
Sugar

Directions:

1. Place canning jars and lids in a large canning pot or canner with hot water from the stove.

2. Once the jars and water from the canner are hot. Put about 8 cups of water in a glass bowl and place a desired amount of sugar in there. I did about 1/2 cup of sugar. Heat this sugar water in the microwave for about 2 minutes on high.

3. Once the sugar water is hot, remove and drain a jar from the canner.

4. Put 1/2 cup of sugar water into the bottom of your jar.

5. Next, fill it the jar with blueberries leaving only about an inch of space from the top. Press down on the blueberries so you don't have too much empty space.

6. Fill the remainder of the jar with sugar water until the water is within a 1/2 inch from the top.

7. Take a hot lid out of the canner and place the lid securely on the jar and tighten or fasten it on with the canning rings.

8. Place the jar back into the hot water. For Quarts leave in the hot water for 20 minutes. For Pints leave in for 15 minutes.

9. After the designated time is up, remove from the canner. If the lid is concaved after it has been in room temperature for 30 minutes or longer, it is securely fastened and ready to be stored in your pantry. If not, place in the refrigerator and use.

10. Continue to repeat this process with all of your jars.

Ranch Chicken & Potato Packets

This recipe is meant to be done with a grill, but I did it in the oven. It turned out fine and was super easy... but it took about an hour in the oven to cook.

Ingredients:
1 large potato
6 boneless chicken strips (uncooked)
Sprinkle of chicken marinade (I used the Montreal Chicken from Grill Master)
some bacon bits
Ranch dressing

Instructions:
1) Heat the grill up or preheat your oven to 400 degrees F

2) Take your raw potato and slice them into thin or small chunks. The smaller the better because they will cook faster.

3) Cut and place 2 sheets of foil onto a baking sheet and divide the potato pieces between the two sheets of foil

4) Sprinkle seasoning and bacon bits on top of the potatoes

5) Place raw chicken (3 pieces per foil sheet) on top of the potatoes

6) Squirt desired amount of ranch dressing on top of the chicken. Be generous!

7) Wrap each packet of foil on the cookie sheet and place them on the grill or oven

8) Cook for 45-50 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are tender and break apart easily.

Serves: 2

*Note- Picture up top is BEFORE I put them in the oven... not after. They didn't last long after I pulled them out of the oven.*

Lorraina's Pico de Gallo

Again a recipe I received from my friend Lorraina while in Nebraska. Lorraina is originally from Mexico and therefore knows how to cook excellent Mexican food!

Ingredients:
2 big tomatoes
1/4 white onion
2 jalepenos
1 tsp cilantro

Directions:
Dice the ingredients and mix together!

Southwest Chicken Salad or Wrap

We essentially got this recipe while in Nebraska from Lorraine and we tried it last night. It was wonderful. Brian didn't think we had enough lettuce for both of us, so he put a little bit of salad in his but ate it as a wrap. Either way, it was delicious... sorry there aren't any pictures currently.

Ingredients:
1 big bag of salad mix
pico de gallo
cheese
1/2 a pound of chicken
Pampered Chef Southwestern seasoning mix
Olive oil
Tortilla chips
Ranch dressing

Directions:

1. Place chicken in a hot skillet with olive oil. Sprinkle PC seasoning mix over the chicken and cook until done.

2. Remove chicken and place in your salad with pico de gallo, cheese, a few crunched up tortillia chips and serve with ranch dressing.

It was so amazingly easy!

*Note- For ingredients to Lorraina's Pico de Gallo see previous post*

Chicken Fettiuccini Alfredo

Takes about 30-45 minutes... not bad for a whole meal!

Ingredients:
1 jar of Alfredo sauce
5 chicken strips
1 head of broccoli
1/2 a tomato or 6-7 cherry tomatoes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Olive oil

Directions:

1. Pour olive oil in a skillet and cook your chicken until the inside is no longer pink and it's easy to shred with a fork.

2. Shred the chicken into small pieces and add broccoli and tomatoes. Add more olive oil if necessary, cook until vegetables are soft. About 3-5 minutes.

3. Pour in Alfredo sauce and add seasoning. Stir while skillet is hot for about a minute, mixing everything together

4. Boil water and add fettuccine noodles- following directions on the box. Serve with sauce.

You can make it healthier by adding more vegetables and/or finding an Alfredo sauce that isn't loaded in calories. The Alfredo sauce is the LEAST healthy thing in the pasta.

Something you can also add is bacon. I know that prevents it from being as healthy, but it does add to the flavor!

Sunflower Cake

This would be the perfect cake to make on Kansas Day (January 29)! It's really simple.

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix

Everything necessary to make the above chocolate cake mix (i.e. water, oil, eggs)

1 container of chocolate icing

About 15 or 16 Peeps (the yellow chicks)

And less than a bag of chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Follow the directions and make the cake mix. Make sure you put the cake mix in a round pan.

2. Frost the cake once it has cooled

3. Place the Peeps on the edge of the cake (butts facing out... just think... "butt out")

4. Then in the center place your chocolate chips with the top part up.

5. Have fun doing this. Since it was Easter time I couldn't help having a little fun with the eggs before I broke them.

Homemade Cornbread & Honey Butter

Here is another 'knock-off' recipe, but this one comes from Marie Callender. It was so easy to make and with the honey butter it was divine. I didn't make my own honey butter, but I will supply their recipe for it... but I bought Country Crock's Honey Spread... which is essentially the same thing. So if you want to slack a bit (like me), you can probably just pick up the honey butter from the grocery store.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cups sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 whole milk
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg

Honey Butter:
1 stick of butter
1/3 cup honey

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees

2. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and mix together

3. Add milk, shortening, and egg and mix only until all the ingredients are well combined

4. Pour batter into a greased 8 x 8 pan (I just used a small round pan that I had)

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown, let cool and serve with honey butter

Honey Butter directions:

1. Combine honey and butter together and mix with a mixer on high speed until its smooth and fluffy

... or ... buy it at the grocery store (my slacker method) :)

Spicy Cajun Chicken Pasta

This is a knock-off of TGIF's receipe, and let me tell you it is AMAZING! It feeds 2 people very very generous portions!

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. butter
1 bell pepper diced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, diced
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp. olive oil
1 med. tomato diced
4-6 mushrooms, diced (optional)
1 cup chicken broth or 1 boullion cube
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. thyme
4 to 6 quarts water
1/2 package of noodles

Directions:

1. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet and saute' bell pepper, onion, and garlic until vegetables begin to soften (about 5 minutes)

2. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place in chicken in the skillet with the olive oil. Stir 5 to 7 minutes and make sure the chicken isn't pink or raw

3. Once vegetables are soft and the chicken is done, combine them together and add tomatoes, mushrooms (optional), salt, cayenne pepper, pepper, and thyme

4. Allow it to simmer for 10-12 minutes until it thickens

5. In the meantime, pour your water into a large pot and bring to a boil

6. Add noodles to cook and then remove (10-12 minutes)

7. Drain the noodles, add butter, and then serve the chicken-vegetable sauce over the top of the noodles.

Overall, I was able to dice everything and get it cooked in about 45 minutes. Not a super quick, but definitely worth it. And with all the vegetables it's fairly healthy and Sophie ate it. I didn't think it was that hot... but some might want to tone down the peppers if they find it too spicy. But for your first attempt... try it using all the ingredients, and then taste, because I really didn't find it too spicy.

Sweet & Tangy Loose BBQ Beef

Ingredients:

7 lbs. beef chuck roast
1 c. water
3 Tbsp. white vinegar
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
4 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 c. ketchup
2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (aka- red pepper)
6 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Place roast in slow cooker with water. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours or until beef shreds easily with a fork.

2. Shred beef and remove fat. Remove 1/2 c. of the broth. (Removed broth maybe used later to add to beef to keep moist if necessary).

3. Add vinegar, brown sugar, dry mustard, worecestershire sauce, and ketchup and place in crockpot.

4. Mix salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic. Then place in crockpot and mix with the meat so it is well coated.

5. Cover and cook beef on LOW for 4-6 more hours. Add broth if necessary if meat appears to be going dry.

6. Serve on toasted buns.

*No picture available*

Brian's Favorite- No Bake Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 stick of butter
- 1/2 c. milk
- 2 c. sugar
- 1 c. chocolate chips
- 3-4 Tbsp. peanut butter
- 3 c. oats
- 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Place chocolate chips, peanut butter, oats, and vanilla in a large bowl.

2. Place butter, milk, and sugar in a saucepan and have boil for a minute. Continue stirring so sugar doesn't burn at the bottom.

3. Combine with dry ingredients and stir.

4. Drop on wax paper and let sit for about 30 minutes.

5. EAT!

Sopapillas

My mother in law cut out this recipe for me and let me tell you the end result is FANTASTIC! Oh.. it is so yummy. And while it isn't healthy, it does allow me to use the remaining flour tortillas that I had leftover from making enchiladas!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
- Heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in skillet over medium-low heat
- Cut each tortilla into 8 pieces.
- Place in skillet and fry until light brown
- Drain on paper towel
- Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon while hot
- Repeat with remaining tortillas, adding more oil as needed.

* This is PERFECT with ice cream! It's as close to making fried ice cream as you can get without it actually being fried ice cream!*

Easy Enchiladas

Everyone seems to have to have their own enchilada recipe... well here is mine for Chicken Enchiladas and they are WONDERFUL!

Ingredients:
3 med. chicken breasts
3 small or 1 large bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 pkg large flour tortillas
1-2 cups of homemade salsa ( you can get homemade salsa from Walmart if you don't make your own)
1 can green enchilada sauce

Directions:
-Use olive oil and fry chicken cutting it into small pieces
- Chop bell peppers and onion into fine pieces and add to cooked chicken
- Next add cream cheese and salsa to the mix
- Take a tortilla and add cheese and then scoop the chicken mix into the tortilla
- Roll the tortilla and place in a cake pan
- Continue until all the filling is gone. Usually makes 6.
- Pour green enchilada sauce over the tortillas
- Sprinkle cheese over the top
- Place pan in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and remove.

You can also make this healthy by using fat free cream cheese and fat free cheese. It's a very very good recipe! My in-laws love it and I'll be making it again for them when they come! It's super easy and really really good!

Calzones

This is a really easy recipe and everyone in our house loves them. The only downside is that this recipe only makes 6 so I would suggest doubling the recipe. They also freeze well and are perfect for lunches and kids!

Focaccia Bread:
1 1/4 c. water
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/4 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano
2 1/2 tsp yeast (1 package)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Mix all ingredients
Place in cookie sheet
Spread dough in the pan
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30 minutes
Divide dough into 6 pieces and roll it flat with a rolling pin
Place in your meat and cheese (I used pepperonis, Parmesan cheese, and spaghetti sauce, but you can use whatever you want)
Pull up sides and seal
Turn them over and roll them a little so they look like little bread loaves
Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes

For filling you can use just about anything. I thought for Lent it might be good to have spinach dip inside.

Introduction

I'm a Native Kansan from Kansas who is currently displaced in Southern Arkansas. When I get time I like to cook; however, it isn't uncommon for all my recipes to go missing. So what better place to keep my recipes, but also have them available for people who would like them. These recipes are not all "organic" or "healthy", but they are easy and getting the ingredients are not difficult. So feel free to browse the recipes and ask any questions. Enjoy!